Zambia: Life on the Other Side of the World

We’ve always wanted to get out to see the mission hospital in Zambia which has been and still is such a huge part of my husband’s (and in-laws) life. We were so privileged to go out and really see life in Zambia first hand. We have so many stories and great memories, so sorry in advance if when we’re talking in the future and I bring up “this one time when I was in Zambia” and tell you a story.

One of the biggest privileges of the trip was to spend so much time with the missionaries. The mission station we visited had originally been started in the early 1900s in a different location because they thought that malaria was literally “bad air” so they put their hospital on the top of a hill. Can you imagine being pregnant and hiking up a huge hill just to deliver your baby? That’s why so many pregnant went up months early and camped in tents outside the doctor’s house so they wouldn’t have to climb the hill to have the baby. They ended up moving the hospital to the valley and it is thriving with a nursing school, women’s/men’s/children’s/surgical/maternity wards, and training the locals to do the job is the biggest job there. When the last full time missionaries leave the compound next year, there will only be visiting medical staff from the west. But that is the ultimate job of a missionary, isn’t it? To train so that when their time is up, there won’t be a vacuum left. Truthfully, I think many missionaries have left a vacuum in their wake which has the Zambians asking for more missionaries to come out. And sadly, no more missionaries are coming, but the good part is that the locals are picking up the mantel and taking responsibility for the churches and the hospitals where the missionaries first were.

A non-medical missionary said was that sometimes “money is more useful” than goods because you can’t exactly cash in a whole stash of colored pencils for a new roof over your head. While it gives us more of a sense of doing something for the missionaries to give them things, money helps them build buildings or pay for electricity or gas in the car in ways that donated goods never will. So next time you’re considering how to help your missionary friends, consider a monetary donation.

In the picture captions you’ll see me refer to the hydro project a lot. My father-in-law was instrumental in getting that project funded so the area could have electricity and eventually connect up with the main national grid. In the mean time, the area has gone from no electricity to 24-hour power and from walking to riding bikes to dirt bikes. Some even have running water, although that is rare still. Something that surprised me was how much Zambians stare–openly with not even a hint of trying to hide it. But they are respectful when addressing you and love to try out their English. “How are you?” is the favorite phrase. I really threw off people when I said “Hi” instead of “hello” so I’d say “Hi” and people would say “fine” thinking I was saying how are you. The kids loved waving when they saw a “chindelly” (white person) or a car drive past for that matter.

As is the case in some third world countries, the power in the big cities is patchy and economical progress is dependent on investors like China who have a huge mining presence in Zambia, much to some Zambian’s dismay.

I was amazed in rural Zambia how many women of childbearing age were either pregnant or carrying a baby on their back. A missionary midwife mentioned that one of her frustrations was that some of the single girls say they were “given pregnancy” as if they had nothing to do with how it happened. I did get the privilege to witness a birth in the hospital. It’s tradition not for Zambian women not to make any noise when they deliver. Because when you make noise, it means the child is not your husband’s and even the girls who aren’t married don’t make noise. It’s truly jaw-dropping. Let me tell you–without the noise of pain, they make giving birth look easy.

All the women (especially in the bush) have their knees covered. It’s more important than covering their chests. So yes it was hot and humid, but it’s important not to offend so you cover the knees. In the cities, more women are wearing skirts or dresses slightly above the knee, but not to embarrassingly small proportions western women wear.

Thanks so much to all of you who prayed for us–our safety, our health, and our sanity (on those long plane rides.) Let’s get together soon and talk more in detail about what’s going in your life and mine and what we’re learning on this crazy adventure called life.

Hibiscus flowers in Zambia

Hibiscus were the first flowers to greet me in Lusaka. They were my dad’s favorite flower. I had to smile at the small gift of God in this place.

Aerial view of Chingola

I expected Africa to be flatter and more Lion King-ish, but those houses look much different than America.

2nd largest mine in the world

An air snapshot of one of the largest mines in the world.

African landscape

I was waiting to see large herds of animals running toward the water.

Clouds on trees

This view reminded me a little of Georgia scenery from the air. Check out those cloud shadows.

Hydro from the air

A view of the hydro from the air. Brings electricity to a big part of the NW region.

Boarding school’s Christmas program

One of the boarding schools’ Christmas program for the end of their term.

First sunset in NW Zambia

My first sunset in NW Zambia

African chota

This is an African gazebo. It’s called a chota (spelling may be off).

Ant skyscraper

The ant hill outside the house. It wasn’t the tallest ant hill I saw but it certainly was tall! Skyscrapers for ants and people. Some of the ant hills were 2-3 stories high.

Stalk of bananas

Small sweet bananas on the stalk can last a big family less than a week

Fresh pineapple and mangoes

Fresh fruit and vegetables was a huge part of our diet. These mangoes and pineapples were sweet and juicy.

First surgery

We got to sit in on a couple of surgeries where my father-in-law was the surgeon. This one was a bone resection from a leg. Sitting in on a surgery would never happen in first world countries.

A preemie baby

A preemie baby at the mission hospital

Hospital ward

One of the wings of the mission hospital where my father-in-law does surgery.

Games on the runway

The runway is the perfect place for games for the locals. Just don’t tell the missionary pilot.

Locals washing pans

Locals washing dishes and clothes in the river

Gray termite hills

See those gray/black mounds? I expected these plains to be filled wild animals, but instead I saw an endless amount of termite hills. Not exactly the wildlife I’d anticipated.

Zambia/Congo border

In many places, this is what the border between Zambia and Congo looked like. The right side is Congo, the left Zambia.

Proof I stood in Congo

Proof I visited Congo

Source of the Zambezi River

This is the source of the Zambezi. From a damp patch of rain forest floor comes a flood of water that brings life to people and plants. An ordinary beginning which doesn’t look like much sustains so much life.

A pineapple field

Pineapple fields planted by hand. Takes 3 years for them to produce good fruit.

Delicious pineapples

NW Zambia is known for having the BEST pineapples in the country

Wild cape buffalo

Wild cape buffalo came amazingly close to us before they got a smell of us, spooked and took off.

Wild Sable

This game park has the largest herd of sable in Africa.

Male sable

The male sable is black unlike the brown of the females.

Nchila

The Nchila are phantoms on the plains, but we got a glimpse of them from afar.

A very heavy storm

There are two seasons in Zambia, wet and dry season. This downpour brought down trees and took off roofs and caused the deaths of a couple of people in the area.

A local school

At this school, there were signs everywhere about AIDS. I was told that some in government tell Zambians that HIV is something the white man made up to keep Africans from reproducing. Also, they believe if they have sex with a virgin they’ll be healed. Jaw dropping what they believe.

One of the classrooms

This is one of the classrooms of the school. The roof is missing from this classroom thanks to the storm.

A local church lost its roof

This church had to get their roof fixed after the storm.

Hill view of the mission station

We didn’t have a clear day for the climbing of the hill to look out, but the view was still beautiful.

A rare sight in the bush

There are 3 incredible things about this picture: the concrete house with a tin roof, the satellite dish, and dirt bike. That, my friend, is wealth in the bush.

Thatched houses

Traditional thatched housing. Most Zambians now have brick houses but we saw a couple thatched houses.

A “flattie” known for mosquito eating

These spiders are called “flatties.” They don’t build webs. They eat bugs especially mosquitoes by catching them when they land. Big, black, and fast usually means a dead spider in my book, but better these spiders being alive than me having malaria…so they live.

A Zambian garden

Gardens for the Zambians where they plant kasava which is their main meal in addition to vegetables.

Water scorpion

A water scorpion. Yeah… I’m not getting in if that’s in there.

Pineapples waiting for the truck

These pineapples are waiting to get picked up and purchased by “the pineapple truck.”

Truck arrived to buy and drive pineapples to Lusaka

On occasion this semi-truck braves the road conditions to come buy pineapples to take to Lusaka because they are the best in the country. Big payday for these farmers.

Matt and I

We went for a walk on the main dirt road and got stared at a lot.

Small boys on a big bike

The boy pedaling is about as tall as the bike yet he took that tiny kid on the back with him. What are the chances you’d let your kids do that?

A path in the mission compound

A view from within the mission compound headed from the hospital to the missionary housing

Mission compound’s soccer field

A soccer field in the mission compound

A serene scene at the Zambezi River

Part of the Zambezi River leading up to the hydro

Zambezi River

More of the Zambezi River

Part of the hydro

Part of the hydro that my father-in-law was instrumental in getting built to bring electricity to this area.

View from the hydro house

The view from the hydro house

Electricity is not to be taken for granted

See those electricity wires in the corner? They are not to be taken for granted in this area.

Sunrise

Sunrise

Goats hiding from the rain

We showed up to church in the rain because we drove the car, and these goats were our only company. Nobody came to church because of the downpour.

Lights on the hill

Do you see those little dots of lights? We take them for granted but in this area they are a small miracle.

Turned over truck because of the bad roads

The roads are pretty treacherous. The truck hit the ditch on the side of the road and rolled. The driver is lying next to the truck and help was nearby.

Training seamstresses to keep them from prostitution

This training center is teaching girls to be seamstresses and tailors to keep them out of prostitution.

Training students to use computers

The Christian training center is teaching this class computers and changing their world of possibility by exposing them to a keyboard and Word all on donated computers.

Waterfall

Peaceful waterfall near the training center. I even saw an otter running away.

Orphan twins, Hope and Joy

Twins, Hope and Joy at the orphanage. Beautiful little girls.

Joy

One of the twins, Joy. Seriously one of the sweetest pictures.

Hope

The other twin, Hope

View from the orphanage

View from the orphanage

Solwezi market

The market in Solwezi made it clear that this was quite a big city.

Wimpy Restaurant

Wimpy was where we stopped for lunch on our way to Lusaka. One of the few dining establishments in the area because the meals cost more than a typical Zambian makes in a day.

Chota filled with kids’ work

A chota in a second orphanage was filled with kids’ drawing and work.

The market in Lusaka

The market in Lusaka was not what I had pictured. It’s in the paved parking lot of a strip mall with lots of items offered under canvas tents.

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1 Comment

Hannah Pulver Michalek
on March 15, 2016 at 11:24 pm

Awesome opportunity, Christy! So glad you and Matt got to go! I’m jealous :-). I love China, but Africa will always have a very big place in my heart. (If your travels ever do bring you over to this part of the world, look us up. We love having visitors and sharing our love for this country and its people.) Happy Birthday, btw! Hope you have a blessed day! I’ve enjoyed following your blog posts periodically. It’s been refreshing to me to hear the reality of faith lived out in your everyday life. I wish I saw it a lot more among those who call themselves by the name of our Christ.